Matching Tides
by MadHatter235
Summary: In the end, they were both the same; matching tides merging into each other endlessly and never wanting to let go.  FangXLightning
1. To The Sea

_Hey, guys!_

_So, one day I stumbled across the wrong section of Hopurai fics and find myself in the middle of FangxLightning (Fight or Flight; the fandom, I mean…) fandom. Probably the first same sex paring I actually took seriously after L/Light._

_Anyway, this piece. It can be understood a stand alone one-shot, although I do have a second chapter in mind and do intend to give an ending to it. I just have to brainstorm it, hang in there…Also, my Hopurai piece will continue, all o.k._

_~~~~~x~~~~~x~~~~~~_

_Disclaimer: It belongs to Square. It's so simple that not even House could've said anything about it. Maybe next time._

_~~~~~x~~~~~x~~~~~~_

**_

* * *

_**

**__**

Matching Tides

_Chapter 1 ~ To The Sea_

___~~~~~~x~~~~~~~x~~~~~~~~_

"Ha! Hope lost it again!"

"I did not, no way! You're going blind, Snow!"

"Easy now, you two! It's just a game. What's the problem if Hope can't keep his eyes away from Lightning for a few seconds?" Vanille said, her voice cracking up in laughter near the end.

They had already set up their camp when the red headed girl challenged Hope for a staring contest. The boy often played the game with his mother and, since he knew there was no utter trick that Vanille could do, accepted her request. They sat in the ground by the fire staring at one another for a while until Hope asked for the rules, or even for a judge, and Vanille said there were none. After some insistent misunderstanding, like the constantly flickering light from their fire, they both agreed on calling Snow over to be the judge. Luck still wasn't on Hope's side, however.

"It has nothing to do with Light!" he exclaimed exasperated, trying to cling to any excuse that would keep him from becoming the laughing stock of both Vanille and Snow for the next few days. Although, that didn't mean his friends' accusations weren't half true. His face was of a bright red, causing Snow to point to him and laugh loudly at any thought of the two of them together that didn't involve physical pain for Hope.

"Didn't knew you like it rough, kid!", the blond man said after his laughter died down, making Hope even more embarrassed.

"It's nothing to do with that! My hair just keeps getting into my eyes, it ain't fair!", Hope almost begged to them.

"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier? I can hold it up for ya!" said a still grinning Snow, his hand already moving to hold his bangles up above his forehead. The fact that his hand was probably the size of Hope's whole head had probably slipped him unnoticed.

"Argh! Hey, lemme go!" Hope exclaimed rather loudly while snapping his arms wildly to Snow's direction, misunderstanding his supposed act of kindness for one of murder.

"Alright, alright!" Snow gave up, putting his hands up in the air for a complete 'I quit' stance. Then, without a notice, one of his hands dove down to Hope's neck and grabbed his scarf.

"Come 'ere, kid", he said while already tying his scarf tightly in Hope's head in a similar way to his own black bandanna, despite the boy's protests. When finally finished he took a few steps back to properly look at his work, giving off his best hero pose and grinning proudly.

"You serious?", Hope asked incredulous, shooting his eyes up to the tall man standing in front of him.

"You look kinda cute like this, you know!", a giggling Vanille added before Snow could defend himself from Hope's unsaid accusation. "Let's play already! Just keep your eyes off Light, okay?"

At the opposite side of their camp, Lightning was standing guard at a distinctly high place surrounded by a few rocks. She knew the area probably didn't have any enemies, but the wildlife down on Pulse was known for being frequently unpredictable, so the soldier decided to stand guard for the night, even though her body was earnestly begging for some hours of sleep.

Lightning sat in one of the rocks and surveyed their camp with heavy eyes. At some point, she noticed Snow's focused attention on Hope and Vanille, who were apparently just chatting. She was too far away to hear any of the conversation to begin with, but, after a while, the whole camp came to a still silence. Moments later she recognized the sound of Hope's voice and Snow's deep laughter, when Snow grabbed the boy's scarf and tied around his head.

Lightning chuckled at the scene bellow. She concluded they were probably having a staring contest, for it was the only reason why Hope had to keep his hair out of his eyes. They resumed playing soon afterwards; that particular match lasting longer than the others, due to Hope's new luck.

The soldier was so immersed in their game that she didn't notice the sound of footsteps climbing up to the spot where she was standing guard, and could barely hide her surprise when a familiar cocky voice spoke from behind her.

"You should be careful, y' know", it said. "All that smiling could be addictive." Lightning turned around to find Fang standing just a few feet behind her, looking down at her, smirking, for having caught her in a personal moment.

"What are you doing here?", the soldier asked, her defenses already up again. She glared at the other woman, waiting for an answer, until her neck started to ache because of the odd angle. Fang sat in a small rock next to the one Lightning was occupying, the soldier's glare following her every move.

Lightning sighed and moved her gaze back to the game, certain that she wasn't going to get any answer from the warrior.

"You don't have to stand guard. I know this place as the back of my hand, believe me; nothing's gonna come up.", Fang finally replied, her voice a bit more serious than usual, as if trying to convince the other woman of her statement.

Lightning turned to her slightly surprised by the fact that Fang noticed she was standing guard. That particular night, she decided it was best not to tell her comrades that she would stand watch for them to rest peacefully. They were all exhausted, and taking shifts to no end wouldn't help the least their conditions.

"What makes you think I'm standing guard?" she asked after a while.

"Didn't say you were, just said you don't need to." Fang replied, her smirk back in her voice. Their gazes kept locked in each other until they heard Vanille's voice cutting trough the silence that had settled between them and turned their attention back to their game.

Hope had apparently won, for he standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest looking rather proud. Vanille whined again a couple of times before pushing his bandanna down to cover his eyes, making him look like a small, retarded version of Snow.

Lightning smiled at the boy she had taken under her wing; he seemed so grown up at times that she would often forget that he was still just a kid. Vanille acted much like the mother he had lost, playing games with him and telling him everything would be ok… and he needed it. Too much had happened to him; he was thrown too many responsibilities at the same time and was slowly tumbling down. Just like it had happened to her…

Fang watched her as she smiled and became lost in her thoughts. The soldier had been angry for having her privacy invaded less than five minutes ago, and now she was all smiles. The pulsian chuckled to herself. So much for a tough, emotionless girl named 'Lightning'. People in Cocoon really didn't understand nature…

"You're just like the sea, sunshine", she stated, her lips twisting up in a rare true smile. " 'Lightning' just doesn't suit you at all. You're like the sea, always caught up in changing tides and all…"

Lightning turned to her ready to disagree, but something about her smile and her eyes simply stopped her. She lost her gaze in Fang's for some time, then turned away from her feeling the heat on her cheeks.

"I never know what to say to you", she said quite honestly, still not facing her. Lightning then abruptly got up, her back to Fang. "I'll get back to the camp now. If anything happens, I'll make sure to deal with you personally tomorrow", she threatened while making her way back to the camp, leaving Fang smiling to herself_. _

"Good night!" she heard Lightning shout at her from a distance.

Fang smirked and said to herself, "Night, sunshine."

* * *

_Also, please tell if I'm in some serious downhill writing._

_Reviews appreciated._


	2. Back To Back

_Hey there!_

_So, despite the low number of reviews, I decided to update this piece. I'm actually rather proud of the way this chapter came out…. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did._

_~~~~~~x~~~~~~x~~~~~~_

_Disclaimer: __ It belongs to Square. Wow._

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 2 ~ Back to Back_

~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X

Lightning woke uncharacteristically early the next morning, opening her eyes to the vast plains of the Archylte Steppes. She fell asleep underneath a tree the previous night, a bit far off from the camp, but still within their earshot if something were to happen. Judging from the silence that was hanging in the air, none of them were awake yet.

She got to her feet and stretched her arms over her head, inhaling deeply the smell of wet grass and nature that clung to Gran Pulse in the morning. Apparently, Fang was right for once. The soldier walked back to the camp and found it intact, no signs of attack whatsoever; or any other disturbances, for that matter.

Lightning glanced to the spot where she left Fang the night before, finding no sign of her. She found Vanille sleeping with her head on Hope's shoulders, and Snow snoring with both his arms behind his head, but still no trace of the wild woman. While making her way back to place where Fang was to stand guard, Lightning stumbled upon the warrior's lance stuck deep in the ground beside the tree she slept under.

Glancing upwards Lightning found Fang sleeping peacefully in one of the tree branches, snoring lightly. She stared at her for quite some but, surprisingly enough, she wasn't mad at this; quite on the contrary. It brought a small smile to her lips, those of the kind your brain doesn't process, it just happens.

Lightning walked over to Fang's lance and, after some effort, pulled it out of the ground. She was surprised the thing still had a tip to it, considering the way it was treated by its owner. The soldier threw the heavy lance up twirling in the air and caught it in midflight with ease, the tip of the blade facing her own body.

She turned to the sleeping woman once again and gazed at her briefly with deep, caring blue eyes, before poking her lightly with the blunt side of the weapon. Fang shot her head up in surprise as soon as the material brushed at her skin, her right hand immediately reaching to the place where she stuck her spear to the ground. Lightning found herself very surprise by her display of balance.

The two faced each other for a while until Fang brushed the sleep out of her eyes. The soldier turned her gaze away when Fang stretched out her whole body, revealing way more than necessary to the younger woman. When she finally climbed out of the tree, Lightning had her eyes in the ground and her arms crossed in front of her chest in their usual pose while leaving the lance leaned on the tree trunk.

"Mornin', Sunshine…" Fang said while yawning.

Lightning lifted her head to the woman standing before her, only to find herself almost hypnotized. Fang's hair was a lot messier than usual and her sari was completely out of place, revealing her bronze toned legs and her well-defined belly. Lightning's first thought was that she looked like a goddess.

The soldier adverted her gaze once again, muttering a weak 'good morning' as she grabbed the spear in both her hands and offered it back to its rightful owner. Due to Lightning's lingering tension whenever the two of them were alone, an uncomfortable silence fell between the two, and it didn't go unnoticed by Fang.

"It's late, we have to get going", the soldier said while Fang reached out to her weapon, her fingers brushing Lightning's far longer than necessary. Fang met her gaze and noticed the familiar stoic mask that Lightning wore when around the group; no rocking tides, no wondering thoughts. Just their perfect, every-day leader, with no emotions whatsoever.

Fang followed her when Lightning walked back to the camp and awoke Hope, giving him the chore of waking up everybody else. The warrior smiled to herself and once again thought that their leader's moods swings were a lot like the endless tides of the ocean. The thing is that, when one watches it close enough, one will be able to see beauty where others are only able to see chaos.

~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~

"Alright, now that we're all ready, let's schedule today's activities.", Lightning said in her military tone to the barely half awaken group standing before her. Snow was unable to keep his eyes opened for too much time and Vanille was supporting all of her weight on Fang's back. Sazh was the only one who managed to keep conscious enough to understand whatever words their leader was saying.

"What activities? We have nowhere to go next!", he stated matter-of-factly.

"Precisely. We've got a lot of ground to cover, or else we'll waste precious time looking for a way out of here. Now, we'll divide in three teams."

She turned to Snow and almost shouted his name to get the sleepy man's attention. "You and Hope go south as much you can, understood?". Snow took some time to process the information, but immediately nodded at his future sister-in-law for his better good.

"Vanille", the soldier called to the petit form standing behind Fang. "You and Sazh go far to the west. As for Fang and me, we'll cover north and east. That way, every team has a proficient healer."

"How will we meet again if we go so far apart?" Vanille asked, jolted with energy on account of exploring Pulse and bouncing at Sahz's side.

"Like this", Lightning said and lifted her right arm skyward. Moments later, a small magic sphere left her hand and flew up high to explode brightly in the atmosphere.

"Alright, sounds good to me!" Snow joined in after a while, punching his fists into his hands, any sign of sleepiness barely noticeable. Hope nodded in agreement; he was already standing by their side with his boomerang in hand and a look of determination in his eyes.

"Right. Give the signal as soon as you find anything", Lightning finished off. "Let's go."

~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~

Surprisingly enough, Lightning felt Fang's company quite enjoyable when there were creatures to slay and things to keep her mind occupied. Immediately upon leaving their camp she regretted her choice of companionship, since the older woman always seemed to get past all the barriers their leader had put between herself and the others and obviously had no sense of personal space.

However, as soon as the first enemy appeared, they seemed to have come to a mutual understanding of each other, at least on the battlefield. Fang knew what Lightning's next move was going to be even before she started her own attack, molding herself to the tactics of the soldier with incredible easiness. They managed to bring down a Behemoth King in less than five minutes.

Fang noticed during one of the fights that Lightning always had the same expression on her face when she was battling. Something of extreme focus, like if she was blocking out the rest of the world and there was only there and then. Of course, the information was sure steep, since she got hit pretty badly for stopping dead in her tracks in the middle of a battle to admire Lightning's expressions.

"What happened?" she asked Fang after the battle.

"Just got distracted, that's all…", she apologized to the soldier, turning her eyes to another direction when Lightning stood close and cast a Cura spell on her. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Fang said, finally meeting her eyes. "So, where are we? I'm sure half the day has already gone by."

"I was expecting you'd tell me. Does any of this look familiar?" Lightning turned back to the vast green area that extended itself to all sides. Fang moved to stand closely behind her, one hand on her hip and the other falling at her side.

"Sure looks all the same to me…", she said in a carefree way, as if she was to pick up a spot to a picnic. Lightning turned back angry with her lightness of spirit, intending to say that if they all kept that attitude they'd become Cie'th before they even found a way out of those God Forsaken fields. However, she was visually surprised by Fang's sudden proximity, which brought a smile to the taller woman's lips.

The two stood gazing at each other for some time, the stupid smile lasting on Fang's lips and the angry look standing its ground at the soldier's stare. After a while, all the anger was gone from Lightning's eyes and she found herself almost as if hypnotized by Fang's gaze. She noticed the way her hair would fall in small amounts between her eyes, making her look mysterious and unconcerned most of the time. It was the first time Lightning acknowledged that Fang was indeed beautiful.

Fang gazed back at Lightning, mesmerized, her smile long gone. She took in all the details about the smaller woman's face: her unique colored hair, her piercing eyes, the way she looked much younger when she didn't have her defenses up… She then gazed at her lips, and, without noticing, her face started to slowly tumble forwards in their direction.

Their faces were barely inches apart when lightning pierced through the sky roaring loudly, making both women shoot their heads up to the sky in surprise. Before the soldier even acknowledged the whole situation Fang was already pulling her by her wrist, running through the plains and leading them to a small group of rocks that could provide cover for them.

By the time they reached their destination, the sound of thunder was loud enough to be considered menacing all by itself. Fang kicked loose some wooden boards off the entrance to a sort of cave and pushed Lightning in just before a torrential rain started to fall above Pulse.

Fang was trying to recover her breath when Lightning evoked a small fire spell, only barely enough to light the place they were in. She noticed the place had rails and mining materials, but was apparently deserted.

"The Mah'habara Subterra", Fang explained. Lightning turned to her and saw the usual smirk on her lips. "Looks like we finally got ourselves a ticket outta here."

Fang turned to the rain outside. "They always come with electrical storms, it's impossible to let the others know where we are. It'll be gone by tomorrow morning, though."

Even thought they were both trying to pretend that nothing happened, the tension between them was almost solid. Fang sat in the ground near the entrance to be on the lookout for monsters and set her spear on the tracks nearby, bringing her arms to her sides to protect herself from the cold wind. A few moments after that she felt the familiar fabric of Lightning's coat on her lap, and glanced at her side. Lightning was sitting close enough so that they could both share the coat as a blanket, her eyes staring at the ground.

They fell into a comfortable silence sometime after, enjoying their presences and the sound of the rain fading into the background, seeming so far away. Fang soon felt sleep taking over her, but not before Lightning would shift her position and rest her head at Fang's shoulder.

"Just like the sea, sunshine…" she said smiling, already fading into sleep. Fang could have sworn Lightning muttered a 'shut up' before she lost consciousness, but she would never know.

* * *

_So, not saying that I deserve lots and lots of reviews 'cause I'm the master of the universe or anything, but only 2 for the last chap.? Is this really so bad?_


	3. Nothing But Memories

_Hey, there!_

_So, about this chapter, I don't personally think it came out great since I tried some different approaches and all, but what I really care about is what you guys think! So, lemme know._

_**Disclaimer**: I don't own Square. I own Triangle, instead._

_~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X_

_Chapter 3 ~ Nothing But Memories_

_~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x_

Among the oldest memories that Fang had was one that repeatedly lasted her whole childhood. A smaller, perkier version of Vanille would always wake her up in time to see the sun rise above the rooftop of their orphanage, much to Fang's dismay. She could remember clearly her dislike for the activity, standing not totally conscious and not totally asleep, watching the same thing day after day with Vanille on her back for her to get a better view. The girl used to say they wouldn't have the possibility of doing that forever, so they should enjoy it while they could. Along the course of the time they spent together, Fang never had the time to thank her enough for that.

As she lazily opened her eyes and lifted her hand to shield them from the strong morning sun, her thoughts drifted back to those particular memories once again. She gazed at the endless green fields and remembered her life when she she was young, keeping Vanille out of trouble and walking barefooted on the grass. More than never, she just wanted to stop this whole crazy mess and spend the rest of eternity there on Pulse. She had found Vanille; her mission was more than complete. They both had been through the whole thing once before, why couldn't they just go?

Fang sighed heavily and lowered her gaze to the sleeping form on her shoulder. Lightning was throughout exhausted after their long walk the day before, and any hope she had of standing guard was sure drifted away to deep slumber by her sore limbs and troubled mind. Fang could hear her breathing in rhythm with the rise and fall of her chest, her whole form holding on tightly to the coat she intertwined between the two. Her hair had fallen to her eyes making her look five years younger, much like her sister, and as naïve as Vanille.

Fang rested her head lightly atop of the light-pink haired one and wished for a moment that Lightning could be as peaceful as she looked right there. None of this was right, to any of them. Why should they get involved in a fight that wasn't ever theirs to begin with? From what she overheard Vanille talking to Snow, she had lost her parents early and joined the military to raise money for Serah to go on with her life. And now, her sister was gone; taken away from her without a reason, and now she was left to wander the world for clues until she ran out of time.

_'Such a heavy burden on her shoulders and she takes it all alone'_, Fang thought. If she can keep her head straight and fearless, the others will have less trouble doing so. She has enough willpower to keep not only herself going strong, but all of their companions as well. It was so amazing….

Fang closed her eyes and sighed for the second time, leaning her head against the wall once again. She knew damn well where this going. She knew she would have probably kissed Lightning the day before if Lady Luck hadn't sent a storm crashing down at their heads right at that moment. Her early admiration for the young girl's attitude quickly grew into a quite concealed crush for her, although Fang would never think her feelings would get the best of her; she knew better than that. Lightning sure had far too many things on her mind to be unnecessarily angry or upset about something, and her teenage feelings would die out eventually.

She knew things were better left alone. She knew it deep inside her; whatever path it took, it could only go into trouble for both of them. But still, every time she caught Lightning with her defenses down she would fight the urge to lean down and kiss her right on the spot. To embrace her tightly and keep everything harmful out of her way. Fang's gaze drifted back to the girl's sleeping form on her shoulder and, almost without realizing, brought her hand up to brush away softly the faded pink hair from her eyes.

Lightning hummed in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes in the direction of Fang, who watched as she slowly recovered all of her senses and noticed she had the cutest expression on her face when she woke up. The girl's sharp blue eyes stared at her green ones and Fang knew she wasn't Sgt. Lightning just yet. She wasn't the guide to six hopeless souls; that would only come after breakfast. First, she was Serah's sister and Hope's mentor. Then, she was Fang's biggest trouble.

_'Trouble'. 'Trouble'. 'Trouble'_. The word echoed loudly inside Fang's head as she leaned closer towards Lightning. It seemed like mere seconds, and she already knew the relationship they had was ruined from that moment on. Fang shut her eyes close her eyes in the same way she wanted to shut herself out of world, not caring about the consequences of her acts, much to Vanille's pride due to her 'follow your heart' speeches.

Lightning didn't push her away at first, nor did respond to the presence of Fang's lips on her own. Fang kissed her again lightly, not forcing herself on her in the least; quite on the contrary, she was almost asking her permission. Lightning would never be so sure as to why, but she clearly remembered kissing her back that day. She kissed Fang, and she lost herself; no longer a leader or a sister or anything, just Claire.

Truth be told, they kissed for a very brief time before Lightning came back to her senses and angrily pushed Fang away. She gathered her coat and got up to her feet in one fluid motion while Fang looked up at her with hurt in her eyes, getting up soon after.

Lightning immediately left the cave that had been their shelter and walked a few steps into the grassy fields, shooting her hand up in the air and causing the same explosion she showed to the others the day before. Not long after that, a series of similar explosions came from not too far away and didn't cease, probably the work of Hope and Vanille's combined efforts.

The soldier had already begun walking when Fang grabbed her shoulder from behind, pinning her in place.

"Light, please lis-", the warrior started with an unusually serious and concerned voice until she was cut off by the sound of Lightning quickly drawing her sword and turning back, pressing the blade against her neck.

Lightning stared at her with focused eyes like when battling, not revealing a single trace of her emotions. Fang didn't conceal the deeply upset expression on her face as she felt the blood dripping down from her cut, and allowed her head to drop to the ground. The cold blade was taken back from her neck and the soldier unceremoniously walked away, leaving Fang behind without a word.

Fang eventually lifted her gaze to Lightning's back, who was now well ahead of her, and also started making her way to source of the bright bangs up in the sky, only one thought in her mind.

_'What have I done?'_

* * *

_PS: Sorry it was so small, I'll make it up to you!_

_~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X_

_Please, review._

_I really need to know this time…_

_~~~~X~~~~X_


	4. Heat Of The Soul

_Hey, guys!_

_I'm on a rush right now, so please leave a message, ok?_

_X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X_

_Disclaimer__: I don't own Square. There would actually be Yuffentine if I did._

_Chapter 4 ~ Heat Of The Soul_

_~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x_

The brightly colorful explosions that cut through the strong blue morning sky eventually came to a halt soon after Hope had barely energy left to stand on both feet. The moment the silver haired boy saw the marker in the distance he asked Snow to pull him up to his shoulders, which made him stand at least twice taller than any of his comrades, since Snow was riding a fairly tall chocobo they had crossed paths with earlier that morning.

"You think they saw it?", the boy asked ecstatic while panting to catch his breath.

"I'm sure they did, kid. Now, don't overdo it, okay?", Snow answered while swiftly grabbing Hope's collar and putting him down with no effort whatsoever. He nearly fell to the ground the minute his body touched the land, and immediately bended his body to support his weight on his knees.

"Why only you get to ride?", he accused Snow from below, his eyes glaring to the now infinitely taller man. The self appointed leader smiled a mischievous smile, the one angered teenagers often do when given the possibility of taking vantage of smaller children.

"'Cuz I'm taller!" Snow smiled his grin, acting like a kid whose mom went away for the day and he could finally vex his little brothers. Hope rolled his eyes the older man's stupid explanation but laughed to himself nonetheless. They were getting along really great after leaving their conflicts on the past, with Snow easy going attitude getting into him and soothing his agitated mind.

The boy almost didn't notice when his admired mentor entered his sight, all death glares and silences. Had the circumstances been any different, he would be childishly hugging her to him or poking on her hand, but Hope had the impression that if as much as stepped into Lightning's personal space he was sure to be dead meat.

Lightning's initial shock to the party was interrupted by Snow's happy toned welcome. "About time, eh, Sis! Wherever did you get yourselves into? We've been looking for you all morning!"

The soldier lifted her head to meet Snow's eyes, giving him a sharp glare that made him shock to his bones. She noticed Fang catching up her pace and going to stand at a fair distance from her, in the middle of the group, watching the plains. Lightning sighed.

"We've found a path.", she said, ever stoically. "It's a short trip north of here; if we make haste, we can cross it before nightfall. And loose the bird, it might attract unwanted attention."

"Aw, come on!", Snow started complaining. "It's extremely useful, just look at him!"

"You have feet for one sole purpose, Snow." Lightning said while rubbing her temples, like if talking to a misbehaved kid. "For you to walk on them."

"But we've only just found him, Sis!" he ignored her and pleaded like the mischievous older brother, opening his arms wide in his frustration.

"I'm not your sister." she said mindlessly before lifting her eyes to the blonde pair. "Stop wasting time and get off that bird."

The group had fallen silent in between, watching the oddly off-character discussion between their two appointed leaders. Lightning stared up at Snow and his bird, her pose resembling one of a western sheriff in the way of convincing bandits to give up while Snow stood tall and proud in his chocobo, one that seemed as empty headed as his rider and inflated his chest to look as important as him.

Their scenery only last a couple of seconds before Lightning brought out her sword for the second time that day in the direction of a comrade, and shoot. Snow recoiled surprised at this, barely having time to notice the bullet ripping the air at mere inches from his left ear. The chocobo, however, didn't have the same amount of courage as the blond hero and and shock his whole body before running off in a frenzy, dropping Snow to the ground.

Lightning spared him a quick emotionless look before taking point, Hope following behind from a safe distance and Sazh strolling not far away, looking much too tired to care about it all. Fang followed as Vanille went to help Snow get to his feet, who quickly ran ahead to bother Lightning some more, perhaps with a bit more anger this time around.

They reached the tunnels not much time after, with Lightning giving hell to everything that moved on their path. The two pulsians had fallen at a comfortable distance at the back of the group, close enough so that they would still hear their leader's battle orders being shouted to the air. It was Vanille who started the conversation, touching on the subject as if she was asking Fang her favorite ice cream flavor.

"So…" she started with her cute accented tone, dragging the word forever. "You gonna tell me what happened or I'll have to ask?"

"You should ask," Fang replied, looking sideways to the bubbly redhead. "It suits us more."

"What happened?" Vanille indeed asked, moving her hand closer to Fang's neck to emit a small cure spell on her cut. "Whatever you did sure got her PMSing about it."

The warrior took a deep breath at this, her gaze going all the way up to Lightning. "Light ain't PMSing, I'm just an idiot…", her voice went down a tone, all self-pity like.

"You told her you have a thing for her?" she asked innocently, hands behind her back and her feet twirling on the ground.

"Hey, I do _not_ have a thing for her.", Fang warned her with her eyes. "I was just… intrigued." Her smaller friend laughed at her poor excuse for a crush.

"So, you told her?" she asked with huge eyes like the fascinated 5 year old girl she never stopped being.

"Nope."

"Then what is she PMSing about?" They had reached a wide area by then, and, even at the back of the group they could hear Snow's one sided attempts at conversation with Lightning. Fang's gaze followed their leader's movements until the whole group came to a halt, probably due to the blonde man's incessant pleading.

"I kissed her", she admitted in a way that matched those of killers confessing their more barbarous crimes, guilt written all over her. Vanille turned to her with sparkling eyes and the cutest sweet expression on her face, as if she told she would be given a pet puppy.

"Don't even start it…" Fang pleaded, rolling her eyes at her excitement. "I'm a mess.", she sighed and lamented it.

"Well, don't be." Vanille said ever so cheerfully, sitting down and patting the space next to her for Fang to follow. "Why don't you talk to her?"

"She tried to rip my neck off this morning; I don't really think that's such a grand idea." In the meanwhile, Snow and Sazh were both nodding their heads in common agreement on whatever subject they were talking about. Lightning roamed about the place restlessly, but seemed a little bit more at peace. Hope had sat in the grass in a similar way to Vanille, his eyes following his leader's movement like a trained dog.

"Light will calm down eventually, you know." she suggested it while waving childishly at the silver haired boy, an equally silly smile pasted to her lips. "Talk to her then; or else you'll probably lose her to Hope"

Fang laughed lighthearted at her statement, "He sure can't keep his eyes off her."

"Looks like competition to me!" Vanille added. "And some pretty strong one at that."

"Yeah, I should probably just give up now and go for Sazh…"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, with Lightning surprisingly sitting down next to Hope and messed lightly with his hair, the two trading small talk. Vanille elbowed Fang at this, who pretend to be eagerly crushed and and swayed her hand hand to dry her imaginary tears. She kept watching Lightning for a while after her internal joke with Vanille, a small smile brought to her lips for being able to see her at her most reserved self.

"You know what?" she said while still looking at the odd pair. "I think I'll do that."

"What, compete?" Vanille asked, suddenly worried that things might get rough on Hope's end.

"No, you silly. Talk to her"

Almost as if on cue, Lightning's gaze came across Fang's for a brief moment. The soldier turned away quickly, almost as if ashamed, and got up to her feet, lending a hand to help the boy up as well.

"Time to go, Vanille."

"Aw, already?" the redheaded complained in a whining and almost irritating voice, causing Fang to smirk at her.

Once in their feet, Fang pulled Vanille in a tight embrace and murmured a small 'thanks' to her. Indeed, nothing would ever tear them apart; they were all in this together, and for better or worse they had a new family this time around.

_reviews, by any chance?_


	5. Same Mistakes

_Hey, there!_

_A tip from a fellow fan: Final Fantasy XIII's Piano Collections is out, and, truly, Lightning's theme a go for the very best. Aki Kuroda is playing them; it's the same pianist back from Final Fantasy X's PC. Totally worth it, so go download it, children. _

_On another side note, I turn 18 this wednesday. Narcissistic, I know, but I really wanted to let you know. You are very dear to me, whoever you are. Really._

___X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X~~~~X_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Square. If I did, I would probably sell them for ice cream. _

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 5 ~ Same Mistakes_

_x~~~~x~~~~~x~~~~~x~~~~~x_

In the end they all managed to cross the Subterra in one day straight. Snow eventually replaced Hope's position in their main fighting party due to the enemies' resistance to staggering strategies, making the boy fall behind with Fang and Vanille, who were currently pestering him about supposed crush on Lightning. Fang threw her head back and laughed loudly as the boy tumbled in his speech and turned red, while Vanille kept thinking of ways to make him miserable.

The whole scene dragged down until they reached Atomos' currently digging spot and Hope made a scene out of falling from a Juggernaut, much to Lightning's irritated dismay. After nearly killing himself by falling from the height of a building head first into the ground, his mechanical mates jumped in the fal'Cie's path to save him and ended up stopping Atomos in the way, enabling the group to ride it until the end of the tunnels.

Since dusk had already fallen upon the Sulyya Springs when the group got there, they only advanced enough to find a good resting spot. Snow and Sazh wandered around for a little, gathering large branches of wood and pilling them nearby for Hope to set them on fire. The rest of them immediately made their camp around the campfire, much to Lightning's protest that they could have made it further before calling it a day.

It was an unusually cheerful night; Sazh and Vanille were sitting side by side chatting lively while Snow was sparring with Hope, which actually consisted of Hope running away and often throwing his boomerang in Snow's direction, making the massive man perform ridiculous efforts to avoid being hit.

Fang was sitting next to Vanille, but not paying any attention to the conversation next to her. Instead, her eyes were following closely their leader's movement, who was sitting leaned against a nearby rock close enough to use the light emanating from their fire to help her sharpen her sword with a small, clean rock; the constant sound of the grinding between the two objects in her hand making up a comfortable background noise, along with Snow's eventfully swears.

Hope was eventually defeated by his sparring partner after Snow caught his boomerang in midair with a proud, cocky smile. He returned it to the boy and swiftly captured him in a headlock, ruffling his hair with his closed fist, despite the protests. Hope then cast his hand downward in the direction of Snow's feet and conjured a small thunder spell, only strong enough to make the blond man jump in surprise and let him go.

"Hey, when did you get so smartass?" Snow asked playfully while sitting on the gap between Fang and Lightning.

"As soon as I started spending more time with you", the boy replied bitterly, trying to brush his hair back into place and taking a seat close to Lightning. The two newcomers to the group were almost instantly dragged in Vanille and Sazh small talk, a comfortable mood befalling them. Even Fang and Lightning made their comments once in a while, and the evening soon came to an easygoing pace.

Fang couldn't quite remember if they went going like that for minutes or hours, but she could remember as clear as day the expression on Lightning's face when Snow mentioned Serah. The man turned to fire with a somewhat serious expression on his face, as if focusing on a math problem that became too hard for him to solve.

"She would have loved this place, wouldn't she?" he quietly asked the fire, and despite the confuse expression on most of their companions, the swift noise of Lightning's blade being sharpened immediately came to a halt. They crossed gazes in common understatement, pain clear in Snow's usually playful eyes and guilt shining bright on Lightning's.

"My wife", he explained to the rest of the group, his voice still heavy with tension. "I mean, she _will_ be, as soon as we get out of this mess and bring her back!" Snow said while punching the air to make his point.

"Easy there, Hero. Save some for the Cie'th, will ya?" Sazh tried to cheer him up a little, who smirked shyly like a little boy. Vanille soon jumped in as well.

"Yeah, he's right! Plus, you can still take her here when all of this is over. We can all come together, how about it?"

"Sounds like a promise to me", Hope soon agreed, somewhat disturbed by seeing Snow in such a sad spirit.

"I'm sure in", Fang joined without much enthusiasm, far too worried about Lightning's dead expression facing the ground. Vanille was blathering lively in the background when the soldier quietly got up and walked away from the group, with Snow following her with a confused gaze.

"Sis?", he asked a bit worried.

"Leave her be, she just needs some time", Sazh explained with his father tone. Vanille quickly got up to occupy the empty space next to Hope, apparently trying to teach him some magic trick, much to his dismay. Snow and Sazh quickly engaged into conversation as well, among the lines of 'kids these days, uh' and other things.

Fang got up sometime after, apparently not being noticed by anyone, and quickly made her way towards the path Lightning had been. She found her not far away; they could still hear Hope's cries as he groaned in frustration of Vanille's tricks. The soldier had her hands down to her sides, clutched into fists, and was staring at Cocoon through the night sky of Pulse.

Fang sat down next to the stoic pose of their leader, facing forwards as she spoke with her casual tone, despite the aching in her heart for seeing Lightning in such a way.

"He didn't mean it like that."

"He's an idiot", came her almost instant reply.

"He doesn't blame you, Light"

"It still doesn't change a thing." she snapped at her angrily. Lightning sighed heavily and sat in next to Fang, clutching her knees loosely the same way Serah did. She turned to the warrior and looked her in the eyes for the first time since that morning, much too tired to be angry or exasperated.

"What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't kill yourself; I'm _so_ not leading those fellas if something happens to you…"

There was a pause, as if Lightning didn't know whether she was joking or not.

"Snow's the second in charge, don't worry."

"Yeah, since he's the brain of this whole thing, it makes perfect sense. I really don't know why we are still wasting our time following your red cape around, really." she said jokingly while trying to cope with the idea of Snow blindly leading their team mates.

Lightning smiled lightly at her sarcasm. "He's the most… stable of you all…", she tried to explain.

"You mean he's too hardheaded to see anything else but Serah?"

She shot her a sideway glance at this, any traces of her smile already faded by the mention of her sister. They sat in awkward silence until Fang spoke, a confident smirk on her face as she, too, stared at Cocoon.

"They're all fighting for her, you know."

Another pause; this time, Fang received no answer.

"You're gonna make it, Light.", she said and reached for her companion's hand, giving it a light squeeze. Lightning turned to her and gazed into Fang's hypnotizing green eyes, looking deep into them for some sort of answer.

"Why are you here, Fang?" she asked again, peacefully.

"I don't know… I just can't keep myself away from you", she answered honestly to the stars without meeting Light's blue eyes. Silence befell them again; long enough for Fang to feel her heartbeat reverberating through her chest painfully, barely noticing when Lightning broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about this morning…" the soldier apologized coolly.

"I'm sorry, too." she confessed, her spirit almost shattered and hopeless. And then she looked at her, and guilty green eyes met confused blue ones. Fang noticed their hands were still intertwined, and Lightning made no movement whatsoever to move them away.

They sat in silence for far too long, holding gazes. Fang started to caress Lightning's hand with her thumb and, conscious or not, was all so slowly tumbling down towards the pink haired soldier. The two girls were literally face to face when Lightning whispered, surprised to find her own voice heavy with desire.

"This is a really bad idea…"

"I know…" Fang whispered back, closing the gap between the two with unexpected gentleness. Her lips were easy at first, pushing against Lightning's with a calm and soft pressure, but soon started begging more and more with an unmatched passion. Fang could remember the feel of Lightning's soft hair on her fingers and the heat of her body against her own.

Lightning kissed her back hungrily, moving their bodies so that she would trap Fang beneath her. She then pushed herself up, supporting her own weight in her arms, and saw the wild ravished look that Fang had beneath her, the warrior's eyes burning with fire and surprise, a look that probably mirrored her own.

"I think I better go now."

The soldier disentangled herself from the dark haired woman and got up swiftly, adjusting her tarnished clothes while Fang brought herself up to a sitting position. When she actually gathered the courage to look up to Lightning, she was already making her way back to the camp, her cape swaying with her every move.

Fang knew it was useless to follow; the soldier was already back to her stoic, cold and distance self. Only one thing was sure in her now chaotic mind: Vanille was sure right about talking it out.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_


	6. These Things Take Time

_Hey, guys._

_Feel like I own you an apology. For being late and all, y'know. I won't lie, okay; I got only two reviews for my last chapter and felt like shit. Seriously considered stop writing this, and going back to Hopurais. I__f you want me to continue, do tell. I do think I'll finish this, but I wouldn't in the first place if it weren't for Morrisey. You go and thank him, not me. _

_~x~~x~~x~~x~~x~~x_

_PS: Read, leave a review, and go play Birth By Sleep. In that order. _

_~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~_

_Disclaimer: Don't own Square, but I will someday! Just guess 'these things take time'._

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 6 ~ These Things Take Time_

_~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~_

"Ha, I knew I'd find you snoozing somewhere! You never change, y' know."

Fang slowly opened her eyes at the high pitched voice of her red headed companion, who was bent over her body sprawled on the ground. The warrior raised a hand to her eyes to shield them from the sun and used the other one to bring herself to a sitting position.

"What you doing here?", she asked, sleep still clinging to her voice. Vanille sat down with her back to the older woman for support, and replied cheerfully, ignoring her friend's condition.

"Light told me to get you up. She's pretty annoyed, by the way; did you talk to her?"

"In a way… Where are the others?", Fang replied, trying mindlessly to change subject; not that she wanted to keep secrets from her best friend, but she wasn't up to all the mind blowing enthusiasm so early in the morning.

"They're arguing as to where we are going next", Vanille informed, and Fang could feel the worry on her friend's voice. "Or where we have been going for the whole time…"

"So what have they decided on?," the sleepy woman asked while leaning her weight on Vanille's back, her head resting on the redhead's shoulder.

"Nothing." Silence engulfed them suddenly; the only sound audible was that of calm waters. Vanille shifted uncomfortably behind Fang's back before asking shyly and almost afraid, playing the younger sister so perfectly well.

"You think we're lost?"

Fang pondered over this a little, all the bright water reflection from the waterfalls finally washing her sleepiness away. She gazed at the sky, poker faced, and then answered; her voice gone with the wind almost before she even spoke.

"I dunno. But we need to find our way soon; sure hope Light's got a plan…"

"And if she doesn't?" Vanille countered, all of her optimism a million miles from there. Fang turned her head sideways and glances at the younger girl, genuinely taken aback by the fear and doubt in her voice.

"Remember how we always used to skip our bed time and go stargazing, and then we couldn't find our way back on our own?"

"What does that have to do with _anything_, Fang?" Vanille asked exasperated, moving her hands around to make her point even though Fang couldn't see them.

"Everything. Remember how we got back?"

Vanille let out a sigh and put down her fight, knowing it was useless to go against her when she had something in her mind. The redheaded then mirrored the other woman's image and rested her head against Fang's shoulders.

"We used to… climb on trees?" she asked herself, doubting the sanity of her own memories. "What for?"

"Ha, and I thought _my_ memories were bad!" Fang laughed at her before getting up from her friend's back. The black haired woman put a hand on her waist and the other at her neck, stretching her whole body like a lazy cat. "Come on, let's go back up Light before they mutiny her…"

Vanille obediently followed her older companion until they came into sight of the camp and the apparent rebellion that was going on. Lightning and Snow both had their bodies inclined towards one another, a look of ultimate defiance strong on both their expressions. The soldier had grabbed the blond man by the collar of his coat and looked literally only a few seconds away from murder.

"We can't keep going like this, Lightning!" the man groaned, perhaps using her assigned name for the first time ever. "We'll never find Serah this way!"

"Don't you dare say her name." she closed her eyes little at this, all menacing and icy. "She wouldn't be caught up in this if it weren't for you, you stupid hero!"

"Well, at least I stood by her side when she needed me!" Snow shouted loud and clear. "What about you?"

They stared at each other briefly, and Fang took the opportunity to take a few steps forward in their direction. Lightning let go of his coat and turned her head to the ground, letting her bangles cover her eyes and making her look deep in thought. The warrior smirked to herself, knowing too well what was about to go next.

"Light?" Snow reached out his hand temptingly, deeply concerned he might have crossed the line that marked their mutual understanding. He was close enough to brush his massive hand against her hair before he was hit by one of the strongest right hooks of his entire life.

"Hey!" he cried, almost knocked down by the intensity of the blow and moved his hand back to check on his nose. "Whatever was that for?"

"For being an idiot", came her cold reply. There was still hurt in her eyes, Fang noticed, but she kept it all to herself. Hitting the life out of things never made her less miserable, only made her less frustrated."We're leaving now."

"But we still don't have nowhere to go!" Hope contested in a rather hopeless tone, failing to see reason in his mentor's stoic spirit. Vanille crossed her arms and suspiciously eyed Fang as the older woman put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder and grinned confidently.

"Actually, we do.", she said and automatically attracted all the party's attention to her current speech, as if she was giving the directions of a water well in the middle of a desert.

"We need to get back to Cocoon, right? And if there's _anything_ that can get us up there, it sure has to be on Oerba."

"And how do you suppose we'll find that?" Sazh intervened, clearly running out of patience for any more debating.

"We climb somewhere tall enough and look for it."

"But where would we-", the dark skinned man started when Vanille shouted in realization.

"Taejin's! We could go for Taejin's Tower!"

The party eyed her as if she had just grown balloons out of her head and went flying away, clearly not following the conversation anymore. Lightning rolled her eyes at Vanille's thrilled state of mind and turned to Fang, keeping her tone neutrally annoyed.

"What are you talking about?"

"If we turn back now, we'll only turn to Cie'th halfway and will do us no good. But wandering around aimlessly is pretty much the same", Fang explained, particularly to Lightning, even though she said it loud enough for the whole group to hear.

"I really think Oerba's our best shot, Light", Fang said in a slightly softer voice and met the other woman's eyes, clearly seeing the exhaustion that consumed their leader. Lightning broke their gaze and nodded once at the ground.

"Then Oerba it is. We'll follow your lead, Fang", she said in a very commanding tone, leaving no chance of argument for her companions. Lightning unnaturally fell to the back of their group while Vanille shared with the others the little she remembered about the place; joy clear in her high pitched voice.

~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~

It didn't take them too much effort or time to get to their destination. Vanille was cheerfully leading the way as if she was leading the party to a perfect picnic spot. Fang stood by Lightning at the rear, followed close by Hope.

In despite of the crumbling look of the structures, and the crumbling state of the tower itself, the group managed to proceed upward with relative easiness. Someplace around the second and third tier, Hope had been called by Sazh to back him up on healing magic, making the the pair fall into an uncomfortable silence. Even thought Fang knew there was something, she also knew it was useless asking Lightning in front of the others, she would just have to wait.

Somewhere between the fourth and fifth floor they came to a stop, barred by a non-working elevator. "Come on! We haven't got all day", Snow complained and punched the wall fiercely in hopes of speeding up the process, which only made the tower emit a deep roar before dust began falling through the roof.

"Way to go, Hero…." Sazh mocked him drily, eyeing the ground. Large cracks appeared on the floor beneath them as the sound turned louder and louder, and then, as if on cue, the elevator platform arrived at their floor. The ground started snapped into pieces as they boarded the lift; Snow took Hope by the collar of his shirt and dragged him along, while Sazh and Vanille were trying to activating the control switch.

"Come on, Fang!", the red headed shouted at her Pulsian companion. Lightning and her were literally running for their lives down the corridor, despairingly trying to make their way into the platform. Fang felt her vision go into slow motion as she noticed the ground crumble under Lightning's feet just in front of her, her red cape swaying like a flag of distress.

Not measuring the consequences for them both, Fang instantly jumped after the soldier, grabbing a handful of Lightning's cape in the process and trying to get hold of something as they fell five floors down into nothing. Gathering all of her strength in one swift move, Fang threw Lightning's weight upwards and shielded her from the fall with her own body, closing her arms strongly around Lightning's form.

Fang could remember the sound of her lance breaking behind her back as they finally came to a halt, and she could taste the blood in her mouth and it felt like her whole back was made of broken bones. The weight of Lightning's body on top of her own was barely noticeable with all the pain cursing through her veins.

She lost conscious with the slight smell of strawberries that emanated from Lightning's hair.

* * *

_Thanks! _

_That was for you guys and for myself. Hope you keep it with me!_


	7. Inevitable

_Hey, again!_

_Thanks to all reviews, really. It meant a lot. All of my chapters for this story were revised this afternoon, I think it's impossible make a better shape out of them. _

_Wrote this whole chapter in one shot. My head hurts like hell and I'll have two hours of sleep, but it was so worth it. _

~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x

_Disclaimer: It think it belongs to Square, mark my words. _

* * *

_Chapter 7 ~ Inevitable_

~~~~x~~~~x~~~~x~~~~

An artificial numbness overtook Lightning's body as she slowly regained her senses. Her body felt light as a feather and there was a constant buzzing in her ears; both probably indicated that she had hit her head somewhere along her fall. The soldier made an effort to roll herself sideways, which consisted merely of tumbling down off the unconscious Fang.

Her heart tugged painfully in her chest when she saw the condition of the woman who jumped to save her. The pulsian had a thin line of blood trailing down from her mouth to her neck and a significant pool of blood beneath her head. Her hand still clutched loosely the ripped fabric of her cape, the material torn apart on account of the abuse it had received.

Lightning forced herself into a sitting position and tried hard to ignore her lightheadedness while she removed her coat and unstrapped her waist pouch, searching for any potions or such almost hysterically. Had it been any other one, perhaps even Hope, she would have calmly remembered her first aid classes, reason overseeing it all. But something triggered deep in her when she saw Fang's condition, and fear and despair clouded her mind.

"Damn!", she hissed in frustration as she failed to find any restorative items within her grasp. Lightning faintly remembered assigning them all to Hope and overloading him with a pile of potions and elixirs, even a couple of phoenix down. The only item in hand was a half full ethersol, which meant that if Fang was ever going to get up from it, it would be on account of Lightning's healing magic; in other words, utter chaos.

The soldier took a deep breath in anticipation and moved to seat cross-legged behind Fang, gently lifting her head and placing it in her lap. The warmth of the blood dripping from the pulsian's unconscious body only made her all the more panicked. Somewhere in her subconscious she felt extremely surprised that she held so much feelings for Fang; truth be told, whatever it was that they shared, she didn't give much thought to it.

She felt so lost, and so bound to literally run around in circles dragging their comrades along if Fang hadn't suggested they came here. Ever since the day she lost Serah, the confidence she cultivated since the day her parents died was slowly fading away; she could feel it slipping away, as if every morning that she awakened, some of that confidence was missing.

And Fang, Fang gave it all back to her. She could finally rest in the rare moments they had together, truly close her eyes and let herself go. Lightning didn't remember what exactly made her return Fang's kiss, but if she ever had to guess, she would surely blame it on that peaceful feeling she got whenever the older woman was around her.

She did remember it on the second time, though. The second time Fang kissed her, and maybe the first time they properly kissed, it was the passion above all else. She had seen it in Fang's eyes; she had felt it Fang's touch. Unexpectedly, her body's reactions were pretty much the same. It was as if her body had started to yearn for Fang's touch all of its own, rebelling against her rational mind and screaming for Fang in every gesture.

She had to leave both times, she remembered clearly. If any other second was spent in Fang's overwhelming presence, she knew wouldn't be able to let go. And she knew she would have to, eventually; she needed to save Serah and protect Cocoon. So utopic, all of it. She didn't have any idea of how to do any of it.

At the beginning, Lightning did have a plan; a rather simple one at that, but a plan nonetheless. But since they fell on Gran Pulse, things began spiraling down. They were tired, all of them. Snow was the only one still mildly motivated, having his hope renewed every time he gazed at Serah's crystal. She wished she could be like him, hopeful enough to go to hell and back with a grin on his face. But she wasn't; she couldn't. Reality had hit her hard far too many times before for her to become a hopeful dreamer. She needed Fang for that.

Fang gave her hope. But it was so much more than that… It was like if every moment that Lightning felt truly broken, Fang would go and fix her up with a smirk. If she was indeed the sea her loved friend claimed her to be, Fang would undoubtedly be her shore. Her land. Her sanctuary.

Lightning closed her eyes and took a final deep breath before leaving her thoughts to the side and using the remaining half of the ethersol can on herself. She felt the substance kicking into effect not after long, feeling a powerful strength running through her veins. The soldier then put her hand over Fang's still unconscious body and focused all of her energy in one single Cura spell, damning herself for not have learned Curaga when she had the chance.

The faint green glow that emitted from Lightning's hands soon turned into a bright one, enveloping Fang's body fully before slowly fading away. The strawberry blond was exhausted, slowly trying to recover her breath as she watched carefully the body laid down in her lap for any signs of improvement. Her hand carefully made its way to Fang's hair and carefully brushed aside some of her bangles, her hands lingering on her wild mane afterwards.

Lightning didn't made any efforts to hide her smile when Fang's eyes slowly opened, her green orbs disoriented and confused. Her hand moved from the pulsian's hair to her shoulders, encircling the front of her chest and bending down for a one sided hug. Fang smiled at her display of worry and concentrated her only few strengths in bringing her hand up to her cheek, bringing their faces together and planting a soft kiss just beside her lips.

"I'm so glad you're okay", she managed to voice out after a few tries, the strong iron taste in her mouth not bothering her anymore. "Try not to do stuff like that anymore, okay? I don't think I'll be able to survive if you make a habit out this…"

Lightning smiled gently at her joke and met her green eyes all so full of life, and that was one the most joyful moments in her life. "Alright, I'll try." They sat in peace as Fang recovered from her injuries, closing her eyes and seemingly asleep in Light's lap.

"What do we do now? We have fallen quite a bit…" Fang trailed off. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the amused expression on the soldier's face as she uncharacteristically made fun out of question.

"You should have thought on that before, don't you think?", the pink haired girl replied with a grin.

"It sure as hell ain't my fault you decided to play damsel in distress… I just thought it would be better if our leader didn't resemble a pancake on her way back, you know."

"I had it under control.", Lightning countered her.

"Yeah, right…", Fang mocked her while cozying her head in the younger woman's lap like a cat. "Hmm, you make a really nice pillow, you know that?" She paused for her joke to sink in, and acquired a more serious tone when she spoke again. "I wish this would never end…"

The words cut through Lightning's heart the same instant they left Fang's mouth. The soldier glanced down at the pulsian's lying body and noticed that her eyes were opened now but she was still glancing sideways, giving her an air of ultimate melancholy. Neither of them had ever talked openly of their relationship, if there even was one. The thought made Light's heart race; what if they meant nothing?

"… What are we, Fang?", she asked, her voice barely audible. The soldier felt like her heart would melt down from all the pain while she awaited the answer.

Fang sighed. She knew this moment would come; it was inevitable. Ever since they shared that first kiss, it was all leading down to this. She was past denying she was in love with Light; she proved it to herself after jumping five floors into nothing just to soften her fall. And it was so different of what she felt from Vanille… Her heart would twist in her chest whenever they crossed gazes, and the passion she felt couldn't even be compared.

But she knew Lightning didn't need any of that. Not a lovesick fool that would only ultimately pain her when all was finally said and done. So, as much as Fang's mind wanted to scream that they were lovers and claim her right there, she sacrificed her wish to Lightning's greater good. They would be…

"…whatever you want us to be." she finished her thought out loud, shifting her body so that she would be able to look the soldier's reaction.

They stared at each other for a while, Lightning's eyes begging for understanding and Fang granting it to her. When the soldier opened her mouth to reply, a very know voice shouted from where the second floor would have been if the tower hadn't crumbled.

"Oi, Sis! You down there?"

* * *

_thanks for reviews. going to bed, feel like crap. (physically)_

~o/


	8. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Earned

_Hey, everyone. _

_Sorry for the wait. Thing is, I had a crush on this girl (even though I'm a girl myself and truly love my boyfriend to no end, just guess things happen) and about two weeks ago I told her. Could've gone worse, but could've gone better as well. She reminds me a lot of Light, cold as ice. We're like different skies. So, in the end, I couldn't write her well without losing my grip. All's better now. I hope. _

_Also, on account of the recent events regarding dildos and Yosh's kingdom of fans, lemme just state right now that I'm neutral in this entire situation. In Bella's words, 'I'm Switzerland'._

_~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X_

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything but my freedom. (Which is poetic for 'don't own Square')_

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 8 ~ Nothing Ventured, Nothing Earned_

_~~x_

Ever since Lightning crossed glares with Snow for the first time – where, actually, _she_ was the one doing all the glare; he would only stare back and punch his hands together, grinning stupidly like a well behaved dog waiting for his prize – she knew he was bound to ruin some parts of her life, it was only natural. He would take Serah eventually, after all. It was inevitable that she would hate him, almost like a natural condition for their position. Snow would steal her sister away, and she would hate him for it. Simple as that.

But still, she was glad he was there for Serah; it could have been a lot worse if he wasn't. As hard as it was to admit, Snow had been playing the part she was to play: protect Serah. Not that neither of them made a wonderful job, but at least he tried. And because of that, there were times that Lightning even wondered why she hated her future brother-in-law. Needless to say, those were particularly _short_ times.

Also, from time to time, Snow unconsciously made sure those short times got even shorter. Hating Snow was all just business, but he sure crossed the line far enough times for it to become personal. And when the unmistakable sound of his grave pitched voice was captured by Lightning's ears, she knew it it was one of those times. At times like those, if a sort of anti-soulmate existed, he would suit it perfectly.

At first, Lightning even wondered if it was a trick of her tired mind until she noticed Fang's eyes follow the sound to its source, what was left of piles of rubble from the floor above their heads. The soldier closed her hands into fists and slowly drifted her eyes upward, catching a glimpse of the unmistakable bandanna; all the heart clutching emotions that ran through her veins were now gone. The only things left in her mind were ways of slowly torturing every molecule in her future brother-in-law's body. And still, she only realized the full extent of her irritation when she shouted back at Snow, anger gripping her voice all the way.

"I'm _not_ your sister!"

Fang chuckled lightly at her friend's reaction from her privileged spot on Lightning's lap, earning her a glare from the pink haired girl.

"Looks like duty calls, Sunshine", she mocked her companion. Light sighed audibly before disentangling herself from Fang's body, placing her ruined cape beneath her head for support and grabbing her abandoned coat along the way. She made her way to the middle of the crumbled arena and glanced upwards, now viewing Snow's full body and the characteristic red hair from Vanille.

"Glad to find you guys okay!", the massive man shouted out while scratching the back of his head. "So, guess you figured it out already, but we can't get down…", he continued in an apologizing tone. "We've checked the floors and there's only one lift that goes up from where you are, but it's pretty fa -" he interrupted his speech abruptly and turned around, like if someone was pulling on his coat. There was a sound of voices arguing in the background before an apparent agreement, and then Hope stood out, only the upper half of his body visible to Lightning due to his height.

"We drew a map for you", the silver haired boy shouted on account of the distance, a bit too loudly, making his voice unnaturally younger. "And you may need this as well!", he added hurriedly, and then threw something down at Light's direction without much strength, making it easy for her to catch it in midair.

She recognized Vanille's leather pouch immediately, filled with Hope's share of potions and Phoenix Downs and a loosely drawn map that appeared to have been scratched with dusty rocks. When she looked up again to thank the boy, it was Vanille who was now standing in the only visible part of the upper floor, uncharacteristically patient.

"Is Fang alright?", the red haired girl asked awkwardly calm, and in that moment Lightning knew that if anything ever happened to Fang, Vanille would be as lost as herself. As she opened her mouth to answer, she heard Fang's voice ripping through air with an almost unperceivable effort to make it sound casual.

"I'm fine!", the oerban shouted regardless of the pain that tore her throat. "Just go ahead, we'll catch up in Oerba, alright?"

"What do you _mean_?", Light watched as the girl got more desperate by the minute. "We'll wait for you guys! Right, Light?"

"Actually, the sooner we all leave, the safer", she tried to explain. "Snow didn't bring the tower crashing down all by himself; some of the structures must have been already damaged when we got here."

"She's right," Sazh intervened, sounding all professional like. "This baby here's as old as time, and thanks to _someone_, she won't keep up much longer. "

"Hey, I'm sorry, okay!" Snow tried to argue. "It just seemed like a good idea at the time, and-"

"Punching stuff is never a good idea, to begin with. Just what the hell were you thinking?" Hope groaned, frustrated.

"And arguing about it ain't a great idea, either", Lightning cut through. "It's settled, you go on ahead and we'll meet in Oerba."

"You sure, sis?", Snow asked with a bit more serious tone, crossing his arms behind his head. She nodded in response, once and steadily, putting all of her trust in him against her better judgment. He smirked in acknowledgement and punched the air in front of him, keeping his fist high while he spoke. "It's a promise then, alright?"

Standing there miles beneath his feet, Lightning was again tricked by her mind into wondering why she hated her brother-in-law so much on account of his little feat. It was the first time she truly smiled because of him, a number that would remain relatively steady over the years.

"Ok, I promise."

Lightning gathered Vanille's pouch and probably Snow's poorly drawn map and made her way back to Fang's side, the sound of the rest of the party growing fainter with every step. The last thing she heard before total silence was the blond's excuse for a giving order:

"C'mon, guys! Let's hit the road!"

~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X~~X

In the end, Fang ended up needing only one potion from the full bag Hope had thrown at Lightning. The soldier resumed her position next to the fallen woman, trying to decipher the handmade map that was given to her. Fang eyed her curiously when she sighed in frustration and took the piece of paper from Light's hands, turning it upside down in the process.

"Snow's an idiot, I should've never agreed with such a stupid plan", Lightning complained uselessly, running a hand through her pink messy bangles.

"Sure seemed like you trusted him some minutes ago, Sea." Fang said without getting her eyes off the map, not seeing the glare she received from Light because of her nicknaming, and then added. "Besides, nothing ventured, nothing earned."

"You make it sound easy", the soldier replied while the warm feelings of comfort that she felt around Fang started creeping up. The dark haired woman then pushed herself up to occupy a sitting position next to Lightning, with their shoulders practically glued to one another.

"That's only because it is, Sunshine". She pointed out an empty space on the map and traced her finger all the way throughout the paper as she spoke, her eyes focused on the task at hand. "We're here."

"Amazing", Light mocked her as she continued, ignoring the comment. The soldier allowed her head to fall into Fang's shoulder and closed her eyes, making the directions in the map the last thing on her mind. All the guilty, the anxiety, the exhaustion; just by standing close to Fang, it all went away. _'Whatever you want us to be'_. Whatever she wanted them to be, right? But what did she want in the first place?

Before Fang even came into the picture, she didn't even know what to fight for, what to believe in. It was Fang who taught her those things, who taught her to keep on going. So she kept going for her sister, but before Fang was by her side it all seemed so surreal. Save Serah. Save Serah. It became her personal mantra, but she repeated it so many times over and over that it completely lost its meaning. Before Fang.

When Fang did come by, Lightning was on the verge of tearing apart. And Fang molded her back together with nothing but words. She saw, she understood. Light didn't have to be brave around her just like she had to do with anyone else; she could be allowed a moment's weakness, and she would take it so gladly.

"Light?" she heard Fang's quiet call in a concerned voice. The soldier opened her eyes slowly and noticed the map was no longer in Fang's hands and had turned her head so that she could see her sideways and still make her comfortable in her shoulder.

"What is it?", Fang asked again, her voice a tad louder this time. Light looked like a complete disaster. She had deep dark circles underneath her eyes, and her once shiny pink hair was now dull from the dust it had collected in the fall, as well as her clothes. Her usual jacket was a wreck, with cuts and scratches all around, and the cape that now lay in the ground next to them along with the broken parts of Fang's lance, ruined and torn apart by her attempted rescue. No matter how many times Fang saw her like that, it never sunk in. It torn her apart every time, to see her become gradually paler and motionless; as if at any moment she could stop moving and simply stand still for all eternity.

"I'm tired, Fang", she admitted the obvious. Her words were low and heavy, like the meaning behind them. Fang rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes, feeling her heart painfully skip a beat. She lifted her left arm and stretched out her legs, quickly pulling Lightning into a back hug and burying her head deep into her soft dusty pink hair.

It was all her fault, Fang reminded herself every time; this was her pain to bear, not Light's. _She _was the one that was supposed to run around frantically for a focus, not Lightning. Never Lightning, never. She raised her head and rested it against the young woman's shoulder, trying to keep her voice steady when she spoke.

"It'll be ok", she reassured, squeezing Lightning's hand tightly. "If you're tired, I'll just carry you 'til you can go on your own again."

Fang heard the soldier's smile and calm reply. "You always make it sound so easy."

"That's only because it always is, Light."

The pair fell into a brief silence before Fang leaned in and kissed her cheek lengthily, giving her one last passionate hug.

"Gotta go now."

"Yeah. You got a reading on that map yet?", the soldier asked after getting up, stretching her hand down for Fang.

"I've got the starting point; we'll make the rest out on the way", the oerban explained while taking her hand for support. She grabbed the leather pouch and strapped it to her back where her lance had been, and opened the map again, turning it sideways until she figured out Snow's scratches.

"You're joking, right?", Lightning eyed her suspiciously. Fang once again answered her without taking her eyes off the map.

"Nope; thataway." the warrior pointed in the direction of one of the many corridors that surrounded them, already taking point regardless of not having a weapon. Any remaining enemies either fled or were crushed by the tower's collapse, which gave them a smooth trip across. Fang's map abilities didn't fail them, and neither did Snow's elevator platform, that got them up to the uppermost floor. There was an arrow made with stones placed together in the ground marking an activated teleporter, along with one of Vanille's many bracelets.

Lightning watched as Fang bent down, took the bracelet and smiled down at it with pride before stating, "They made it."

* * *

_Thanks for the reviews and the patience. See you next chapter!_


	9. Memories Of Happier Days, The Road Home

_Hey there!_

_Sorry for the long time wait. There were running presidential elections in my country, and everyone (including myself) got in over their heads with it. Luckily, it's all over and done with. __On another side note, I've joined Greenpeace last week, and bought myself a small blank booklet to let out my 'inner self'. Really dunno where that came from, but I just really felt an urge to buy one. _

_Also, if my calculations are correct, we're only a couple of chapters to the end of Matching Tides. I'm currently working on a sequel, with a super secret plot that no one will ever find out, and it will be continued._

~~x~~x~~x~~x

_Disclaimer: I don't own Square. No guys, seriously. _

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 9 ~ Memories of Happier Days/The Road Home_

Surprisingly enough to Lightning, Fang didn't behave any differently when they set foot on Oerba's proximities. From the very first Cie'th they've encountered, she would play the sentinel role and provoke them all to keep to hell away from the soldier, taking quite a few hits along the way and causing the soldier to heal her after almost every battle. Just like she expected her to act, protective and trying to make herself useful despite being disarmed. The outskirts of her hometown were destroyed and covered in dust, and still, here she was; throwing rocks at Cie'th to protect her, and her only.

Even though they were perfectly in synch in battles, a mutual silence befell them. This was it, after all; the end of the line. If they didn't find anything, there was no other hope to any of them. No future. No saving Serah or protecting Cocoon. Nothing.

Of course, she knew Fang better than to break down at the sight of her long lost hometown, but the older woman as if the location didn't mean much to her. In a way, it was just like Fang's "out of sight, out of mind" attitude. The warrior would always surprise Lightning in times like this, when she forgot that there was more strength to Fang then she would ever be able to see.

The pair didn't have to go very far out to find the other half of their group, fighting against a couple of particularly nasty Vampires. Snow and Sazh quickly managed to stagger one of them, giving Vanille and Hope enough time to finish it off with elemental spells. Even slightly afar from the group, Lightning noticed as Snow obviously tried to provoke the other Vampire, that wisely chose to ignore him and charged at the boy that stood a bit behind, instead. Lightning cursed under her breath before unsheathing her gunblade and running towards her protégé, back flipping above the boy and landing on her knees between Hope and the Cie'th just in time to shoot a few rounds on the weakened enemy, making it disintegrate before their eyes.

The group stood quietly for a few seconds, trying to process the situation before their eyes. It was Fang who spoke first, and even though she had her back turned at the black haired woman, she could still picture the proudly, almost mocking pose of the warrior as she teased, "Anyone missed us?"

Hope, almost as if unaware of the turn of events that happened before his eyes, launched himself and hugged his mentor's neck with utmost joy, crying out her name with delight. Light turned her head sideways and smiled at him sympathetically, catching the sight of Vanille running to the direction Fang had been standing, probably throwing herself in the older woman's arms in a similar way Hope did. The soldier squeezed the boy's hand around her neck one last time before bringing herself up, just in time to see the sentimental embrace shared by the oerban women. Fang gave back the leather pouch to Vanille, but not before grabbing the poorly scratched map from inside and crumpling it to the size of a paper ball, shooting it hard between Snow's eyes and catching him by surprise, much to Sazh delight.

"That's for bringing the goddamn tower down!" she scolded him, even if not truly angry. The tall blond tried to apologize again with an empathetic smile while scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, I said I was sorry already, come on!" He then turned to Lightning, a half pleading look in his eyes. "Tell her, sis!"

The soldier closed her eyes and let out a sigh, trying very hard to keep her arms crossed and out of Snow's way. "I'm not your sister", she said ever so patiently.

"Well, tell her anyway!" she heard the hero insist. "You're lucky I just didn't deal with you myself", Lightning said before opening her eyes and glaring at Snow, her next words leaving her mouth with a serious tone, almost without thinking. "If there's any reason I still haven't killed you by now, it's most certainly her."

He watched in awe as the soldier walked past him, taking point, followed by Hope and Sazh. Fang came and patted him on the shoulder a couple of times, mocking him. "Hey, don't worry. Next time, I'm sure the absence will make her heart grow founder."

"…Yeah, thought so…", he replied without paying much attention. In all the time he had known his sister-in-law, never had Snow heard she talk about someone the way she had just did with Fang. He had noticed the two of them had grown close over their time together, and probably had more synchronicity in battle than any of them. But somehow, it felt like something more… Something Snow couldn't place just right.

The blond soon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Sazh call his 'hero ass' to battle, helping the old man stagger a few Cie'th for Light and Hope to finish it out. He noticed how Fang would always stand not too far out, everything about her body language screaming that she wouldn't think twice before jumping between Lightning and anything else that stood in her way. Of course, she was just as protective of Vanille, but they'd spend, like, eternity together, right?

The first crumbled constructions didn't take long to start appearing before them, although it was impossible to tell any of their former structures on account of the damage they had taken over time. Fang felt her best friend tense besides her as they lead their companions through what had been their hometown. The Cie'th became scarcer as they got closer to what seemed to be the center of the town, when Vanille slowly came to a halt, followed by the rest of their party.

Sensing her inner turmoil and angst, the older oerban pulled the young girl into a loose side hug, merely resting her arm around Vanille's shoulder. The redheaded girl responded by leaning her whole body into Fang, her eyes falling to the ground that had once been greener than the plains itself. The group watched with respect the silent mourning of the duo, knowing that whatever words of consolation were useless.

It was Hope who made the first move, jogging to Vanille's side and taking her hand in his, in a heartfelt attempt to support the young girl like she did with him many times before. Lightning followed close behind, mimicking the young boy's actions with the warrior and lightly intertwining her fingers with Fang's, choosing to ignore the growing urge to come closer and rest her head in the tall woman's shoulder. They heard Snow's heavy footsteps a few seconds later as he stopped behind his sister-in-law and put a reassuring hand on Fang's shoulder, while Sazh caringly tapped Vanille's head a couple of times.

The blond man broke the silence then, speaking one of the only wise things Lightning knew he was capable of saying during his entire life.

"We're family now", he started, his voice ringing out in his rare outcast leader tone. "We stick together, for better or worse. Through anything."

A small yet confidant smile was brought to Vanille's lips as she heard the man behind her, at the same time as a feeling of certainty filled her heart. Who or whatever was left from her family was laying in dust now, but she already knew that way before stepping into those unwelcoming lands; long before awakening from crystal stasis. What pained her heart was the thought that perhaps never again she would have a home or a family to come back to. But she also knew she didn't need to worry about that anymore; she knew it when Fang first started to crush at Lightning, and bonds began to be tied. This was her family now.

She felt Fang lightly squeeze her shoulder while lowering her head to whisper directly in her ear, only loud enough for her to listen, using her personal motto and catchphrase against her.

"If it's too much, face it later."

Vanille looked up to her best friend and smiled one of her purest smiles since they awakened from the stasis and fully embraced her, letting her hand go from Hope's caring grasp to Fang's deep blue sari. The redheaded noticed that even though Snow was now engaged in messing with Hope and Sazh was catching up with his chocobo, Lightning's hand was still firmly intertwined with the warrior's. Vanille pulled back and gave her older sister a look she didn't quite get, before grabbing Hope by the wrist and kidnapping him from Snow's friendly annoyances, running swiftly and dragging the silver-haired boy close behind until they reached at the edge of a building and stopped, turning behind to shout at the two grown men.

"It's tour time! Come on, or we'll leave you behind!"

Lightning tried to follow her companions as they hurried to catch up to the young pair, only to have Fang's grip on her hand keeping her in place. The soldier eyes her suspiciously, noticing the usual smirk grow on her friend's face, but made no further effort to free herself.

"I have to go somewhere first, we can join them later", Fang explained, already pulling the pink haired girl by the hand, guiding the path. Lightning made no protests in being guided, even if in such an almost childish way. If felt so natural, being around Fang for so long.

"I don't really think we should be touring…" Lightning voiced her worries, afraid that Vanille momentary forgot that they were L'Cie on the verge of becoming long lost Cie'th.

"Don't worry; Vanille's got more in her head than it looks", Fang replied, turning her head slightly to meet Light's gaze. "I'm sure she's looking around for something useful."

"And what _exactly_ are we doing?", the soldier asked, taking in the view of the once glorious town and letting Fang guide her feet.

"Going home."

"Thought we already were home.", she replied matter-of-factly.

"In a way… ", she countered distractedly, trying to clearly remember her memories and take them the right way. Lightning noticed the constructions in that area were still standing, most of them missing walls or roofs, but in a far better condition than the ones near the center of the town. Fang's easygoing pace soon came to a halt before a couple of well conserved small houses, taking a slow approach towards one of them in particular, letting go of Light's hand to go forward and push what was left of the door opened.

Immediately, Lightning missed the warmth of Fang's hand on her own and fought the urge to come closer to the huntress. She tried to dismiss those thoughts as she followed the oerban's footsteps into the compact space. Fang familiarly made her way across the mess of gathered dust and broken furniture, while Light first noticed the photo standing on a table near the entrance.

She took the picture in hands, spellbound by the two girls captured in it. Vanille was bending down at the camera with a frowned expression and a funny smile on her lips, probably trying to fix some setting on the last minute; and Fang was standing behind the red-haired girl with one eyebrow raised, probably shaking her head regarding Vanille's clumsiness.

"It was the last one we took before we left", Fang called out, explaining the photo in the soldier's hands. She looked over at the huntress direction, that was now busy testing an old spear to check it's efficiency, poking at imaginary enemies.

"You looked happy", Lightning muttered some time later, tracing her fingers lightly over Fang's part of the picture. The warrior strapped her spear behind her back and came to stand close to the pink haired soldier, looking at the picture over the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Well, life was easy…", she let her voice trail off, becoming lost in her memories for a split second, and then swiftly took the frame from Light's hands and placed it over the table again. "But I'm happier now."

The huntress lowered her gaze to Lightning's mouth and captured it gently with her own a couple of times, pulling back only to hover at mere inches of the soldier flushed lips. The last conscious thought that crossed Light's mind was how Fang always seemed to have control over her, since only brushing her lips with the dark haired woman made her lose all reason. She wasn't too far from the truth.

The soldier brought her hand to the back of Fang's neck and buried it deep into the wild, messy black hair, bringing the huntress closer to her while closing the distance between them with a reciprocated burning passion. They knew they could no longer turn back, or deny it. In the end, they were both the same; matching tides merging into each other endlessly and never wanting to let go. Lightning was unaware of the exact moment when her back hit the wall near the door, Fang's body pressing into hers with long pent up lust, keeping her in place with a firm hand on her waist and a strong hold on her pink locks.

Lightning's impatient hands traveled up to caress the tanned skin beneath her sari, coming to rest on Fang's right breast, emitting a small, lustful groan from the huntress. Fang responded by pressing her body even further into Light's, licking the soldier's lower lip temptingly before biting it lightly, making the pink haired soldier moan her name with a voice dripping with desire.

The huntress then pulled the soft, pink strands of hair down with a yanking motion, planting passionate kisses in her jaw and trailing down her neck as Lightning fumbled urgently with the upper half of Fang's sari, running her hands all over the warrior's body, memorizing every curve.

They were so captured by the moment, unaware of the outside, that when one of Vanille's distinguished high pitched scream reached Fang's ear it took her a few times to recognize it. Her drunken gaze met Lightning's, her usually clear blue eyes were now dark like the ocean during storms. As if to proof itself real, the characteristic shriek repeated itself, this time followed by the strong and troubled voice of Light's brother-in-law.

"Damn it! Lightning, come right now!"

The pair exchanged glances, a mix of worry and disappointment in her eyes, before running side by side in the direction of the screams. When they arrived, the familiar petit figure of Serah Farron awaited for them, along with the rest of the group at a distance, with the exception of Snow, who was kneeling with his arms hanging by his sides, as if he didn't have any strength left to sustain his body.

Lightning watched in awe as her sister smiled sweetly and threw her head to one side, one of her most peculiar characteristics, truly doubting her ears when she heard Serah's voice for the first time for what seemed ages.

"Hello, Claire."

* * *

_PS: This chapter's title was taken from the 6th track in the Final Fantasy XII Piano Collections, which consists of a beautiful medley on Vanille's Theme, Memories of Happier Days and The Road Home._

_Thanks for reading!_


	10. One Little Victory

_Long time no see, uh._

_First of all, sorry. Sorry to keep you waiting. School was sure on the way, but it seems that this fandom cursed all of its writer to be doomed with personal problems by the end of the year. Mine was the girl I used to (still do) crush. We had ups and downs, that cost me like, 5 straight bottles of vodka to forget even my name. My thoughts still run to her every time, but I trust they'll forget their way eventually. Still hope she's well. _

_Oh, anyway. Personal procrastination was also in the way, sorry. And the newest Hot Pursuit, also. And Gabriel Márquez's 'One Hundred Years Of Solitude'. This chapter's title comes from me playing way too much Need4Speed, the older ones you don't probably even know about. It's so old it has about 5 tracks that are played repeatedly and in the same order, and one of those is Rush's One Little Victory. _

_Enjoy and review, if you can. I was soooo rusted when I put my mind back into this, really doubt it turned out ok. Do tell, I guess._

_ xxx~~x~~~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~xxx_

_Disclaimer__: I don't own Square. If I did, I would actually make a decent Kingdom Hearts with Sora in it for a change. _

_xxx~~x~~x~~x~~x~x~x~x~~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~xxx_

_Chapter 10 ~ One Little Victory_

A silent, almost gentle rain befell the desolated town of Oerba as the Farron sisters stood face to face, staring at each other; the younger one particularly calm, with an easy smile on her lips, while the older, slightly darker haired one was visibly shocked beyond words. Lightning found it hard to focus on anything else as her sister's familiar voice rang through the air, sending hollow chills down her spine. She could loosely recognize the tall figure of Snow, brought to his knees, along with whom she assumed Hope and the others. The constant warmth from Fang's body, which was gently pressed against her back, was miles and miles away; the only movement she could acknowledge was the ever-present chilling rain, that seemed to craw beneath her skin and into her blood, freezing her body into place and robbing her of all logic.

Only the soldier's icy blue eyes had the strength to follow the petite form of the younger girl, who was happily giggling in her ever characteristic way in a complete contrast to the background and atmosphere.

"Why the long face, Sis?", Serah asked in a way that cut right through Lightning's emotions and brought her back to the warm sun of Bodhum's afternoons and barefooted walks on the beach. The light pink haired girl put her hand behind her back and smiled broadly as her sister slightly turned her face sideways and closed her eyes, trying to keep her memories at bay.

She just had to be rational. There was no logical reason for Serah to be in a place like this; she was carved in crystal, for Etro's sake. Something wasn't right, she knew it. But just the presence of her, standing there before her after what seemed like years… Those eyes; they had no soul to them.

"Claire, it's me…", her sister's sweet melodic voice rescued her from the chaotic chain of thoughts, forcing her deep blue eyes to meet their twins. She noticed Serah had begun taking small, tempting steps towards her, almost standing at sword's reach. The younger girl stretched out her hand to Lightning, nearly hypnotizing her with her gaze.

However, long before Serah could even get close enough to reach out to the troubled-looking soldier, Fang had already stabbed her spear in the young girl's direction, superficially cutting her cheek. Lightning could barely register her hair stirring on the left side of her face when Fang's voice came from behind her, low and menacing.

"Don't you _dare_ get near her", the huntress threatened while taking a step forward, surrounding Light and standing between the two sisters. She was so focused on protecting the soldier behind her that Snow's anger yelling didn't even stir her eyes; nothing in the world mattered more.

"What do you think you're doing?", Lightning heard the blonde's angry protests, causing her to turn towards him. Quicker than she ever thought him to be, he was already on his feet and dashing towards Fang with infuriated eyes. Almost on instinct, she stepped forward and stood besides Fang, unsheathing her Blazefire Saber in its full extension and aimed it at Snow's, causing him to stop rashly.

They both shared a surprised look for a few seconds, taken aback by their respective reaction before Snow's anger came rising once again, this time through clenched teeth and white knuckles.

"What the hell? Lightning!" Before the strawberry blonde could answer they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Oh…My, oh, my…. What do we have here?" Serah mused at the scene unfolded before her eyes, pacing slowly forward and back, followed by Fang's ever present weapon. Snow turned his attention to her, confused by the fact that the two persons she loved most in the world were about to bite their heads off and she was taking her time to contemplate it.

"What a great sister you claim yourself to be, uh…", she spoke her slowly, almost mockingly so. "You know, this is all happening because of you… Why weren't you there to protect me when I needed you the most? Why did you turn your back on me?"

Her words hit the soldier as heavy as bricks, and she could only stare with dead eyes back into her sister. The truth she had been trying to run away from, to entirely dismiss from her depths of her soul, it had been vigorously thrown at her. She noticed Fang's body tense on account of the anger and the grips on her spear tighten up; still, the huntress didn't move from her spot next to Light, her eyes focused on the younger version of her lover.

The soldier lowered her weapon from Snow's shocked face and slowly turned it towards her sister, trying to gather the strength and determination to point a sword to the only family she had left. Sure, she was guilty of the accusations Serah blamed her with. But she Serah better than this; she would never blame her for anything.

The young girl laughed loudly at her reaction, tauntingly moving closer towards the tip of the blade pointed in her direction and forcing her older sister to lower her sword in order not to harm her. "It doesn't matter; you aren't able to harm much as this fake exterior". Serah smiled in a wicked way upon the sight of her sister's helpless weakness. "You love her too much don't you, Claire?"

"Well, _I_ don't!", Fang yelled as she launched herself in the younger girl's direction, no longer trying to keep her anger at bay. Her lance struck the ground where the blond figure once stood mere seconds before the impact and violently shattered the pavement. Serah was gone, and the same familiar laughter ran throughout the ruins of Oerba, now in a much deeper and serious voice.

"Fang, child… after five hundred years of raising your weapon against our kind, you still haven't given up?" The huntress briefly exchanged glances with the younger Farron sister that magically now stood a few feet away and rushed menacingly towards her, leaving her spear stuck next to the soldier's feet.

In a swift movement, Fang grabbed the collar of her plain white shirt and held the girl above the ground. "We can see past your tricks, fal'Cie", she shouted straight into disturbingly well-known blue eyes. "Show yourself, Barthandelus!"

Fang saw a brief smile on Serah's face before being launched back with extraordinary force by a white, blinding flash. Still stunned from the impact, the huntress felt strong arms break her fall, probably Snow's, due to their size. She could sense Lightning was close to her by the smell of her hair, and she could hear the soldier's voice echoing in her head, apparently meaningless. The strong flash gave away to Lightning's blurred features, which slowly made themselves clear as Fang recovered her senses.

"Are you alright?", she finally identified Light's worried voice. Fang looked past her to see that Sazh, Hope and Vanille were hopelessly trying to have a fair enough fight with the bronze god-like creature. The soldier seemed to notice the situation as well, muttering a curse under her breath and turning to Snow.

"Go, now!", she commanded, leaving him no room to hesitate. His strong hands left Fang's shoulder as he rushed on ahead and compressed his anger into his fists, being the only one to so eagerly attack Barthandelus straight on. His battle cries raised the hopeless spirit of his comrades, and his reckless moves inspired those around him, suitable of a hero indeed.

A bit behind, Lightning loosely supported Fang with one arm around her waist while conjuring Cura spells that slowly brought back to the pulsian the ability to stand in her own two feet. She reached for her forgotten spear, buried in the dirt next to the soldier's feet, and turned to Light with her characteristic smirk and confidence

"Time to even these odds", the accented voice cut through the easy rain. Their gazes met for a brief moment and their intimacy in the battlefield began to kick in, their unique ability to predict each other's minds and fight as one. In a matter of seconds, both women charged towards the battle and turned the flow of it.

Turns out, Fang and Hope also had an incredible and just-discovered synchronicity in battle. Both of them would assist Light with their moves, Hope usually before his mentor's assaults and Fang usually finishing her moves. The three of them, by combining their efforts they were completely able to foretell each other's moves and turn them into a series of endless attacks that would, ultimately, stagger the great fal'Cie.

With the assistance of Vanille and Sazh protective magic, and Snow's seemingly endless rage towards the fal'Cie, the trio's newborn tricks brought Barthandelus down after an exhaustive fight. There was another bright flash, and then it was Galenth Dysley kneeling on the ground instead of the towering creature. However, the menacing aura still clung to the air like the raindrops to their skin.

"This changes nothing", his heavy voice reverberated from the broken buildings in Oerba. "Your struggle is useless; your destiny is my design."

"You're wrong", Lightning replied in a calm voice, sheathing her sword. Her comrades naturally fell into a group that surrounded the soldier's back as she traded last words with their fallen enemy. "We make our own destiny, l'Cie or not."

The man let out a short laugh and made a miserable attempt at standing, only to fall over again. "Do try it, Lightning Farron. When you hopelessly fail, perhaps the fools that you call companions will see reason and surrender to me."

Snow replied to him this time, not half as calm as his sister-in-law, but restrained enough so that he wouldn't punch Dysley to death. "Wrong again, old man. When we break your focus, and we _will_, we'll do it together."

The Primarch finally managed to get back on his feet, supporting his full weight on his staff, and glared at Snow in a way that would haunt even the bravest of heroes. "You are but weak and broken l'Cie. I will take everything you cherish until your spirits becomes hollow." His words were said with so much conviction that it sent an unpleasant thrill up their spine.

"If you still wish to pursue your utopian dream, come to Eden; I will be waiting for you." Dysley locked his malicious eyes with Lightning's and gave off a type of evil smile that only truly dark souls could give off. "But first, a little reminder…"

It all happened in a second. Light remembered Dysley extending his hand towards her, and the unnatural colored blast that was emitted from it. There was clearly not enough time to evade it, so she just closed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth as the rest of the party stood in awe behind her. But, of course, there was Fang.

Fang charged the small distance between them as fast as she could, but she never made it in time. All she had time to do was to reach out for Lightning's shoulder and pull it down forcefully. And as the soldier fell with her back to the ground, she saw the blast barely pass by her and hit Fang's chest.

The huntress' painful cries filled Light's ears as she got up and turned to Galenth Dysley. She felt something stir violently inside of her as the calm rain turned into a torrential downpour and thunders cut throughout the sky. Never in her life had she felt such an urge for blood, or such a desire to kill. She took out her gunblade and leaped high in the air, shouting out her anger to all four winds before landing where Dysley stood.

The sword, she noticed, wasn't hers at all. It was one of Odin's massive blades that stood now buried halfway into the ground of Oerba, cracking its surroundings on account of the force of the impact. She looked around for the Primarch, finding only her even more shocked and now soaked companions. She went to kneel by Fang's side next to Vanille, who was already working her magic but without much success. The warrior had passed out, probably on account of the pain, but her wound was still open and bleeding. All of her hatred turned into guilt upon the sight.

"Hey", she said to Vanille gently while putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Let's get her into one of these, first." She nodded towards the group of few houses that were still standing firmly enough to guard them from the rain. Vanille met her eyes, and even through the heavy downpour she was able to see the despair in expression as the young pulsian nodded in agreement.

As she carried Fang's unconscious body to the closest house, assisted by Vanille and Hope, the only thoughts that consumed her mind were those of ending the war, once and for all. They couldn't keep going like this. Their next charge would be their last.

* * *

_PS: thanks. _


End file.
